Orchard owner, B.L. Smith, stands somewhat hidden in the lower lefthand corner with a five year old Winesap variety of apple tree bursting with fruit. Smith's orchard, a mile and a half northwest from town, was on land irrigated under the...

Matsura's photographs of orchards and fruit production were often used by newspapers, Commercial Clubs, the Great Northern Railroad and as County Fair entries. The pictures showed proof to doubters back east who had only heard or read the praises...

Matsura stands under a fruit tree, holding a basket (of what looks to be plums) in each hand. He wears tall leather boots, a work-shirt with tie, and a wide-brimmed, loose hat. A watch chain dangles from his waist. His bicycle is propped against...

A young woman stands with arm upward, touching the top branch of a young apple tree to show its comparative height. The tree is perhaps two or three years old, and behind it can be seen a row of trees that make up a new orchard.

Mr. Peter S. Ferbrache stands with his arm extended to the top of a one year old apple tree to demonstrate how even a tree planted on land without the luxury of irrigation is able to flourish in the conducive Okanogan climate. Mr. Ferbrache's farm...

Matsura stands beside a two year old apple tree grown on Pogue Flat. The area fell under lands designated for irrigation by the Pleasant Valley Irrigation and Power Company. This was a corporation formed under Washington law which, after ten...

A lone apple tree becomes the focus of Matsura's photograph taken at an unidentified orchard somewhere near Okanogan. The tree appears to be approximately four or five years old, and should begin to bear fruit within the next year. Farmers...

Showing the height of a three to four year old apple tree in bloom, Judge W.C. Brown stands to the left of the tree, with Mayor Harry J. Kerr to the right.
Note: original photographic print is torn on upper right half.

During the Christmas holiday in 1911, the usual bridge club meeting took on a new tradition. The players, at the home of schoolteacher Miss Mabel Woody, put on "kid" clothes and gave toys and dolls to one another as gifts. The next year the party...

Mayor Harry J. Kerr stands next to a young fruit tree to show off its height. Besides being Okanogan's first mayor, Mr. Kerr was head cashier at the Okanogan Valley Bank, which became the First National Bank of Okanogan in 1909.

When Senator W.L. Jones traveled to Okanogan County on tour, he stopped for a visit with his good friend and fellow (retired) Congressman, Dr. J.I. Pogue. Matsura took a picture of Senator Jones standing underneath one of Pogue's apple trees (the...

Two young girls, holding apples, pose in front of a perhaps five year old apple tree. The smaller girl takes a bite out of a large red apple, while the older girl holds hers out for the camera to view. Washington apples, and Okanogan and Wenatchee...

An unidentified man stands beside a two year old apple tree in an orchard. Note the other crops grown in rows between the apples. These filler crops brought income while a farmer waited for his/her apple trees to begin producing. This could take...

Many of Matsura's photos of orchards and fruit trees were entered or used in displays for county fairs, or in traveling exhibits sent back east by the railroads. His photos were also seen in booster pamphlets of the Okanogan area, and frequently on...

In some instances, a picture is worth a thousand words. For the purposes of extolling the praises of the Okanogan climate and soil to possible settlers, nothing compared to a photograph of a branch overflowing with fruit. Here Matsura sets a white...

Photograph of a house with a woman standing in front of it. The woman is wearing a dress and a white apron. On her head is a white hat tilted to the side. She stands in front of a fruit tree, which could be either apple or peach.

Some branches from a Spitzenberg apple tree are so overburdened with fruit that they bend straight down towards the ground. Photographs such as these showed potential settlers the bounty to be had in Okanogan. Matsura's photos were used in a...